


Mokuba's First Friend

by Odunkun



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama & Romance, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-08-21 12:51:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16576856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Odunkun/pseuds/Odunkun
Summary: After Mokuba was captured in a card by Pegasus, Ryou traverses the Shadow Realm to comfort him. For the first time he can remember, he comes to trust and rely on someone other than Seto. Of course, this displeases his brother greatly.





	1. A Shared Cage

**Author's Note:**

> Beyond the premise and character personalities I made no attempt to follow canon. Hope you enjoy my first fic. Mature stuff comes in later chapters.

        "Mokuba? Can you hear me?"

        "Ryou? I'm over here!"

        Ryou could feel the tug of the Millennium Ring but it wasn't always easy to follow in the void of the Shadow Realm. Only the yamis and Pegasus with his Millennium Eye could see through that darkness and the terrors that lay in wait. Luckily, the ring had led him close enough to Mokuba's soul prison to hear his voice and he sped up his pace.

        "Keep talking. It's easier to follow the dimensional shifts by your voice than my ring." The Shadow Realm didn't care to obey the normal physics of three dimensional space and warps could be subtle enough for Ryou not to feel them on his own.

        "I'm over here! Hurry, I can hear something on the wall!"

        Ryou turned slightly to the left and continued, Mokuba's voice growing louder as he got closer. He stretched out his arm just in time to feel the wall of the prison and stop before crashing into it. "I'm here. I'll be in in a second."

        Ryou concentrated on his hand and imagined the hard surface turning into a wall of falling water. He could feel it bend and then stretch against his fingers until it softened enough for him to pass through. Pegasus knew how to make soul prisons well but that wasn't exactly the best name for them. They had originally been developed as pocket dimensions for mortal souls to escape to when trapped in the Shadow Realm, and really only blocked monsters and the souls of the dead.

        As he continued passing through the molasses-like wall, the darkness parted and he was greeted by Mokuba's worried but excited face. "Hurry, I can hear it crawling closer to where you're coming through!"

        Sure enough, the sounds of claws tapping and dragging weight were making their way across the stone walls of the cell to where Ryou had opened a hole. Mokuba grabbed his hand and began pulling to get him through faster. It didn't really help, it was more a matter of pushing his will through the wall than applying physical force, but Ryou appreciated the attempt.

        "Don't worry, I'll make it with plenty of time to spare," he lied. The sounds were approaching dangerously close to where his right foot was still slowly easing through. Mokuba pulled harder, the excitement turning to panic until at last Ryou was all the way in and the hole constricted shut.

        The force of Mokuba's pulling combined with the sudden release of the wall's hold sent the two toppling into the middle of the cell on top of each other. Ryou's reflexes were just fast enough to put out an arm and break his fall away from the young boy beneath him. He heard a pop and a crack as he landed on his palm and pain shot up his arm.

        Mokuba heard the sounds and could see the pain race over Ryou's expression. "Oh no! Ryou, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pull so hard!" He ignored his own pain in his elbows and tail bone and sat up, grabbing Ryou just below the elbow to inspect his injured wrist.

        "It's fine," Ryou reassured him, smiling through the pain, "unlike you I can use my yami's power to heal faster in here. It's just a wound of the soul." He let out an unconvincing chuckle but it was the truth. "More importantly, are you okay? I didn't land on you did I?"

        Mokuba shook his head, "I'm fine, but do you think the hole is closed enough to be safe?"

        They both looked to where Ryou had come in and could see the points of claws stretching the softened stone surface and scraping across as the monster outside tried to dig it's way through. A few more tries and a frustrated growl later, the wall had hardened enough that even the tips of its claws weren't making visible deformations and they heard it drag its self away from their little haven.

        Ryou turned back to Mokuba and smiled more genuinely, ruffling the boy's hair as he spoke, "I'm pretty sure we're safe now. Nothing's been able to get to you so far after all."

        Mokuba blushed at Ryou's touch and leaned in to hug him, "I know. I'm sorry. They're just really scary sometimes."

        "I know, even if they can't get a meal out of you some of them love tormenting the living." He returned the hug with his uninjured arm, resting his cheek in Mokuba's hair, "come, the floor probably isn't the best place to sit."

        He broke the hug and pulled Mokuba up as he stood, leading him with a hand on his shoulder to where a simple wooden cot was placed against a wall. They sat down and once again, Mokuba took Ryou's arm to look at his injured wrist. As expected, a bruise had already taken over the area and the swelling was just starting to subside as the feeling in his fingertips slowly returned.

        "Sorry..." Mokuba muttered and looked away and down at the floor.

        Ryou smiled, "I told you it's fine. It barely even hurts now." He put his arm around Mokuba's shoulder, wincing at the pain as his fingers grasped his arm, but Mokuba bought his bluff and turned back to smile up at him.

        "Thanks for coming again, Ryou. It's so creepy in here sometimes... and boring... and lonely." Mokuba turned away as he spoke and the last part was just a mutter but Ryou heard it without difficulty.

        He squeezed tighter, wincing again before he spoke, "hey, want to hear about what's happening outside? "

        Mokuba looked up with an excited expression, "is my brother out yet? I'm sure he'll win if he duels Pegasus again!"

        "Sorry, he's still in a soul prison too. Yugi will get you both out soon though. Pegasus said they will duel with the new moon. I have no idea why that should matter but Yugi agreed so it's only a couple more days."

        Mokuba gently head-butted Ryou's shoulder, "but I want big brother to save me... or you. You're the first person to care about me like he does." He looked back up, still upset but mixed with a look of gratitude. "Have you talked to my brother?"

        Ryou let out a laugh, "no, I still don't think that would be a good idea. He still doesn't do so well with the whole yami/hikari thing. I think he'd be as likely to think I'm my yami and attack me as trust and listen to me."

        "Well what about taking me to him? He'd listen to me for sure!"

        "No. Neither of us would forgive me if you got hurt on the way. I have the power of the ring to guide and protect me. It would be way too dangerous to bring you along. Just be patient. Pegasus is just using you as hostages. Once this is over he'll let you out regardless of the outcome." Ryou tried to be reassuring but had no idea if there was any truth to his words. Luckily Mokuba wasn't the best at reading lies, and some of his yami's deception skills had rubbed off on Ryou.

        “Hey, I also brought a deck of French cards and some coins to use as chips if you want to play something,” Ryou said, trying to change the subject, “I would have brought some normal dueling decks but I'm still not sure how they effect the real versions of the monsters here.”

        Mokuba leaned over and hugged Ryou again, calmer but with a tired look in his eyes. "Thanks, but I can't sleep alone with the monsters outside. Could we take a nap for a bit and then play?"

        Ryou pet his hair and a gentle smile crossed his face, "of course. And I'll make sure nothing bothers us."

        They lay down on the cot with Mokuba snuggling against Ryou's side, his head resting on Ryou's shoulder and Ryou's injured arm still wrapped around him. Ryou lazily pet Mokuba's hair until his breathing slowed and his body relaxed into sleep.

        There was something funny about watching someone sleep while visiting them through one of his own dreams. He wanted to join but wasn't sure if it was even possible to sleep while sleeping and didn't want to risk trying incase it removed him from Mokuba's side the way waking up did.

        Instead, he spent some time thinking about how he could change his favorite occult deck to get ahead of the meta. He also wondered what Mokuba's favorite card was. If it fit the theme maybe he could add it to his deck too. Hopefully he wasn't obsessed with the Blue-Eyes dragons like his brother.

        Mokuba shifted positions several times over their time snuggling and Ryou was careful to shift along with him to make sure he would stay comfortable and asleep. By the time Mokuba woke up a few hours later, Ryou's wrist had completely healed, and with the pain gone he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

        Mokuba, still a bit tired and ready to go right back to his dream reached up and pet Ryou's cheek, speaking slowly between yawns, "I know you're worried about leaving me, but you need rest. I'll be fine. Take care of yourself too." With that he slipped back into sleep, snoring softly as his face pressed awkwardly into Ryou's arm.

        It was true that projecting into the Shadow Realm in his sleep didn't make for the best rest so he took Mokuba's advice. He gave the sleeping boy another squeeze and let himself drift off as well.


	2. An Unwelcome Guest

        After being released from their soul prisons, Mokuba hadn't left Seto's side, even sitting on the floor outside the bathroom when his brother needed to use it and asking Seto to do the same for him. That is, unless Bakura was around. Anytime Seto seemed busy with something Mokuba would ask Bakura to stand watch outside the bathroom or to escort him to wherever he wanted to go. When he wasn't around, Mokuba would frequently make comments about him like, "I wonder if Ryou would like this," while eating or, "we should show this to Ryou," when exploring parts of Pegasus's mansion in the day leading up to their departure from Duelist Kingdom.

        He even sat next to Bakura on the helicopter ride home, shouting and laughing back and forth into each others' ears over the roar of the rotor. Seto was worried and annoyed. He didn't want to press the issue in case it caused an argument so soon after being reunited, but Bakura was dangerous. He still didn't get how it all worked but he had an alternate personality like Yugi, and unlike Yugi's, Bakura's was malicious.

        Seto decided to leave that discussion until they were back home and Mokuba felt safe enough to be on his own. Unfortunately, things didn't follow his plan. The day after they made it back Mokuba started asking if Bakura could visit the mansion. At first it was easy to make excuses like needing to go to some work related engagement together, but it didn't take Mokuba long to figure out he didn't need to be involved. That's when he started requesting Bakura be his babysitter. Of course, Seto refused and the result was Mokuba refusing to leave his room. Even when Seto left he stayed there. At least he was getting better at being alone, and he was finally confident enough to let their driver take him to and from school again.

 

        Unfortunately for Seto, Mokuba wasn't as passive as his brother had hoped. A few days later Seto returned from an evening meeting to find Bakura sitting on the floor cross legged against the couch with Mokuba on his lap playing video games together.

        "Mokuba! I told you no guests." Seto's worry for his brother came out sounding more like anger.

        "No, you said I couldn't have him over because we were going to your stupid meetings. But I didn't go this time did I?" Mokuba shot back.

        "Sorry Seto. I didn't mean to intrude," Bakura said meekly.

Seto glared at Bakura, "that's Mr. Kaiba to you."

        "Of course, sorry Mr. Kaiba. I'm just used to Mokuba calling you by your first name." Bakura bowed his head slightly in apology, but the pleasantry just annoyed Seto.

        "So you've been asking about me. Trying to gather private information? I don't know what you did to trick my brother into trusting you but I've heard the stories about what your 'yami' has done," Seto growled, "get out and never get close to my brother again!"

        Mokuba sat still, shocked by the exchange and unable to respond.

        "There was no trickery on my part but I understand your concern. I'm sorry, I didn't intend to make you worry." Bakura's face filled with guilt, knowing Seto was right about just how bad his yami could be. He put down his controller and prepared to stand up to leave once Mokuba was off of him but there was no sign the younger Kaiba brother was planning to move.

        Instead a scowl spread across the younger brother's redening face. This was going much worse than Seto had planned in his head. At this rate he may get the silent treatment as long as the time he threw away his brother's favorite shirt after it got holes in the elbows. But the silent treatment wouldn't start until after he threw a tantrum.

        "You idiot! Ryou didn't trick me! When I was stuck in that soul prison he visited me every day! He was there for me when you couldn't be. Don't you dare be mean to him!"

        Seto could tell this was worse than the shirt incident. But his brother's safety was the highest priority. He strode over and grabbed his brother's wrist, pulling him off of Bakura's lap. Bakura cautiously got up but stood back nervously rather than leaving strait away.

        "I thought I told you to lea-" Seto began to snarl but fell silent and gasped when Mokuba's head slammed into his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him.

        It had been a long time since he got into a fight with Mokuba and his younger bother could hit a lot harder now. Still not enough to cause serious damage, but more than enough to give Seto a bloody nose with one punch when he bent over gasping for air.

        Bakura reacted quickly, pulling his brother away before another hit landed. "Hey! Violence is never okay! Your brother is right. I may be in control now, but I can't guarantee that forever... It's safer if I go," the last sentence was almost a mumble, as tears formed in Bakura's eyes.

        After a few seconds Mokuba stopped fighting Bakura's grip on his wrists and instead began crying. Bakura turned him around and gave him a hug. "It's okay. I'll keep working with Yugi to figure out the Millennium items. It's best that you stay safe until we do."

        He pet the top of the young boy's head once more before leaving, bowing as Seto sat on the floor, finally recovering, "apologies for my intrusion, Mr. Kaiba," and with that he left the mansion.


	3. The Great Escape

        Three days had passed since his brother kicked Ryou out of their mansion, and Mokuba had finished the preparations to sneak out through his window. He 'borrowed' a rope from the gardeners' tool-shed along with some white paint so it would blend in against the outside of the house when hanging from his window. He also took one of the emergency flashlights from Seto's closet and stole a security pass from one of the guards when they were on a break. He had his own to open the gate but it was programmed to alert his brother when used. Of course, he had all of the usual necessities for going out: snacks, soda, Game Boy with a pouch of games, his favorite deck, and of course a small hidden knife for self defense. He hadn't had any training on how to use it yet, but if needed he was sure he could make do.

        The only thing left was to wait for his brother to leave for his evening meetings and print out a map to where Ryou went after school using his brother's computer. The night before the helicopter ride away from Duelist Kingdom, he overheard Ryou and his friends talking about their plan to catch up on school work when they got home. Grandpa Muto's shop had a back room they had used before to play games and he was happy to let them use it again as an after school study room. He emphasized it was only as long as they really did study and not just play games the whole time though. Mokuba planned to bring his own school work on the second visit to make sure he didn't get everyone in trouble, but he didn't want to be weighed down by it on his test run.

        Once his brother had left and his map had been printed, Mokuba tied the rope to a bar on his headboard, removed the bug screen from his window and dropped the rest of the rope out. He waited for the guards to go by, and climbed down using loops he tied to make it easier. Once on the ground, he darted from bush to bush cautiously but really didn't need to. All of the security staff were for keeping people out, not in.

        He was making steady progress but froze suddenly once he reached the staff's security gate behind the mansion. He hadn't gone anywhere alone since getting back. The world outside the gates suddenly felt bigger, darker, and full of unknown dangers. Panic started building in him. The guards would pass by again soon. He had to make a choice _now_ , outside or back in.

        He decided to go back. He could always try the next day or the day after. He snuck back to the rope and climbed up into his room. He then spent the rest of the evening sneaking around the mansion, trying to avoid detection by any of their servants as practice for both avoiding people, and at being outside the comfort of his own room alone.

        The next day he spent some time psyching himself up and wore sunglasses, a hat, and a scarf to feel less conspicuous. As it was still summer, this would do the opposite, but at least it would hide his identity and make him feel less exposed. He took the same path through the grounds as before, but stopped just short of the gate and hid among some bushes to make sure he was calm enough to proceed. After the guards did a couple laps past him, he felt ready and made it the rest of the way to the gate, opened it with the stolen security pass, and made his way toward Grandpa Muto's shop, Kame Game.

 

        It took him an extra 15 minutes to walk to Kame Game compared to what he had planned. Avoiding anyone who looked suspicious was more difficult than anticipated. Mokuba guessed Ryou and his friends would have been there for less than half an hour if they walked near the same pace as him. It was pretty far from Ryou's school and unlike Mokuba, they didn't have anyone to drive them after school. He peaked in one of the windows on the side of the building, as expected only Grandpa Muto and a customer were in the front room.

        Mokuba snuck around to the back of the building and pressed his ear to the back door. He couldn't hear what anyone was saying but he recognized the voices inside as Ryou and his friends. He pulled his head away and knocked gently. After a moment without a response, he knocked a bit harder. This time he could hear footsteps approach the door, unlock it, and crack it open until the door chain snapped taut. Yugi peaked through suspiciously but smiled and opened the door properly when he saw who was there.

        "Mokuba! It's good to see you. What are you doing here? Is your brother here too?"

        "No, he's at work as usual. I remembered someone said you guys come here after school a lot so I had my chauffeur drive me over. The house feels so empty when only the staff are around."

        "Of course, of course. Well, we're just studying but you're welcome to join us. The more the merrier." Yugi smiled and stepped to the side to give Mokuba room to enter. As he stepped up into the building, he noticed that he was finally tall enough for their eyes to be level. _Victory,_ he thought to himself as he went further in and Yugi closed the door behind them.

        Almost the whole gang was there, surrounded by textbooks and endless pages of notes, except Ryou. Mokuba greeted everyone and then asked, "does Ryou not hang out with you guys anymore?"

        Everyone laughed and Tea pointed to a blanket covered lump on a bench in the corner. "Oh he's here. But Mr. Smartypants always takes a nap when he gets here and then catches up with all of us once he feels awake enough."

        Mokuba laughed too, but felt a little bit of guilt for depriving him of so much rest back in Duelist Kingdom. Maybe some of his usual aloofness was because he tires out faster than everyone else.

        "Well, sorry to be boring but we really need to get back to studying. You're welcome to stay but try to keep the noise down."

        "Of course, Yugi. I brought my Game Boy so I'll just sit and listen." Mokuba sat on the end of the bench next to Ryou's head, and pulled out his pouch of games to decide what to play. The rest of the group returned to sharing notes and teaching each other parts they didn't all get.

        After considerable consideration, Mokuba settled on his current favorite, _Duel Monsters 5._ He popped the game in, and started it up, glancing down at Ryou's sleeping face while waiting for it to load. The blanket was wrapped around his head like a hood, and he was facing the back of the bench, making him hard to spot.

        Unlike so many of his past expressions of encouragement and hidden worry, every muscle in his face was relaxed. His lips were parted slightly, condensation forming in a little spot on the backrest where his breath blew against it. His cheeks were smooth and round with a constant soft curve and the slightest blush. The little bit of his forehead not covered by the blanket lacked the usual wrinkles of worry he wore so often in the soul prison. And a lock of soft white hair had slipped down between his eyebrows to rest on his nose. Mokuba got the sudden urge to brush it away for him. _He's so beautiful_. Mokuba blushed bright red at that thought. _Where did that come from?_ He looked back at his game and saw the main menu awaiting his command, conveniently dispelling that train of thought.

        After about half an hour, Ryou shifted under his blanket and yawned, stretching his legs until his feet thumped against the wall. He rolled onto his back and sleepily opened his eyes to see Mokuba's face smiling down at him. His eyes widened in surprise and darted around the room to confirm his where abouts. Mokuba expected Ryou to be happy to see him, but instead another look of worry took over the older boy's face.

        He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at the boy above him. "Does your brother know you're here?"

        Mokuba scowled, "of course he does. He said I could hang out with you as long as I'm home before dark. You know him, security always keeps track of where I am and tells him if I leave."

        Mokuba blushed as he spoke and he had trouble making eye contact. He was a terrible liar, but hopefully Ryou wouldn't notice from that angle. It seemed to work. Ryou sighed and smiled.

        "Sorry. You're right about him of course. Sorry I doubted you. You've never lied to me before and I'm sure you wouldn't start to now." Ryou had a hint of sarcasm in his voice and suspicion in his gaze. Maybe he wasn't as fooled as Mokuba first thought, but at least he didn't try to dig any deeper.

        He pivoted into a seated position, then took off the blanket and slipped between where Mokuba was sitting and the end of the desk in front of the bench. After folding and putting the blanket away on a shelf, he ruffled Mokuba's hair. "Well I assume they've told you why we're meeting here. I hope you won't be too disappointed if I join them?"

        "Of course not. Do you guys meet here everyday? I could bring my own homework next time." He already knew the answer but didn't want his visit to seem too well planned.

        "Yeah, at least until we catch up with school work. We'll probably still come here after that just to hang out though." Ryou smiled and glanced down at the Game Boy's screen. "Ah, _Duel Monsters 7,_ good game."

        "Yeap, it's my favorite in the series so far." Mokuba smiled up at him. "You should probably get to studying now. I don't want Grandpa Muto getting mad at me for distracting you."

        Ryou laughed and nodded, then gave Mokuba's hair another ruffle before turning around to join his friends. Mokuba blushed at his touch and went back to his game with a grin on his face, happy that they got to talk even if just for a moment.

 

        Tea had been right. Ryou caught up with everyone in no time and was soon one of the more active teachers in the discussion. After about another hour had passed Mokuba decided it was time to head home. He needed to sneak back in before his brother got home and checked on him. He packed up his things and got ready to leave before saying his goodbyes, "Seto said to be back before dinner so I'll get my driver to take me home now. Would it be okay if I come over again tomorrow?"

        Yugi smiled and nodded as he spoke, "of course. You're always welcome to join us, especially if you brother finally approves of us enough to let you."

        "Thanks. See you tomorrow then. Later Ryou." Mokuba smiled and waved as everyone gave him a collective goodbye. As the door was closing behind him he looked back just in time to catch Yugi chuckle and grin at Ryou, "well, I think it's pretty clear who _his_ favorite is."

        He didn't hear Ryou's response but what he had heard was enough to make him blush again. But why did that make him feel embarrassed? It was totally normal to be closest to the person who had protected him. He shook his head and pushed it from his mind. He had a mission to complete: sneaking back into the fortress he called home.


	4. A Family Dinner

        Mokuba repeated his adventure every day for the rest of the week. Even though he was in a different grade and couldn't join the discussions, it was still fun to finally have friends to be around every day. He knew he had to tell his brother eventually. Even if he didn't get caught by his brother or their staff, he was still a prime kidnapping target as always. He needed one of their drivers to take him if he was going to keep making the journey and that would never happen without his brother's knowledge. He decided to talk to his brother for the first time in over a week over dinner and see if he would agree to letting him go on the same conditions he had already lied about to Ryou.

        When the call for dinner came, Mokuba quietly walked through the house towards the dining room. For a little more than a week Seto had been sending a servant with food to Mokuba's room, after he had finished his own dinner. By the time he got there he could hear the scraping of utensils against plates. The older brother hadn't waited to see if his younger brother would join him that night.

        Mokuba opened the door a crack and peered in. Great, steak for the fourth night in a row. Without his presence to complain, his brother had ordered the kitchen staff to make his own favorites every night and skip dessert entirely. Mokuba paused to wonder if his brother even wanted to patch things up. Maybe he was still mad about inviting Ryou over. But no, it didn't matter what Seto wanted. All that mattered was getting permission to continue his daily routine to see Ryou.

        Mokuba threw the door open and strode in confidently, wincing when the door crashed loudly against the wall. That was more than enough to grab Seto's attention. His brother was now motionless, staring right at him with a piece of meat on the end of his fork. Mokuba continued forward, a bit sheepishly this time, to his chair across from his older brother and sat down.

 

        As Mokuba started filling his plate, a wry 'I told you so' smile crept across Seto's face. "So, tired of it already. That didn't last as long as I expected."

        Mokuba blushed and looked away, not saying anything in response.

        "Continuing the silent treatment then?"

        Mokuba paused, "No, I came here to talk. I think _you_ would call it negotiating."

        "Oh? Does this have anything to do with where you've been sneaking off to every day?"

        Mokuba's looked up with a surprised expression on his face to find Seto's smirk wider. He then looked back down at his food and mumbled, "I... I don't know what you're talking about..."

        Seto's expression softened to one of disappointment and worry. He let out a tired sigh before speaking, "a member of the security team loses his gate key a week after you come back from being kidnapped and you think I wouldn't know about it? I'll admit, I was impressed at how well you snuck past some of the best security agents in the region, but you can't sneak past the cameras. At least, not all of them."

        "I..." Seto could hear the nervousness in his brother's voice as he tried to respond. "You've always been there for me. Always took care of me and played with me. But for the first time, there's someone el... a few other people I look up to. We've never had friends, but it doesn't have to be that way anymore..." the last few words trailed off into a mumble.

        "I know." Seto sighed again while his brother looked up to study his face. "I just don't get it. Last week you couldn't go to the bathroom alone, and suddenly you're sneaking out by yourself to walk halfway across town to a game shop?"

        "Wait, how did you know where I was going?"

        "Do you really think I'd knowingly let you leave without security following you? I only let you do it because _some_ of the people there have proven themselves trustworthy."

        Mokuba glared at his last comment but didn't address it, and after a moment of thought said, "Well if they're already approved... does that mean I can keep going?"

        "Hmm... as long as someone drives you both ways, you're back before dinner... and you're _never_ alone with Bakura. Actually, never without Yugi. I've come to trust the others to do the right thing, but he's the only one of them who can deal with that psycho alternate personality" Seto narrowed his gaze and waited for his brother's response.

        Mokuba's face showed some disappointment at the last rule, but after a moment of consideration, he looked his brother in the eyes with a wide smile and nodded confidently, "all right. Agreed."

        The corners of Seto's mouth twitched as he tried to hide his smile. The end of his silent treatment, steak for days without complaints, and the return of his brother's usual cheery demeanor, all while going along with his safety concerns? He couldn't have dreamed of a better outcome, other than one that didn't include that monster, Bakura.

        The two brothers went back to eating, and after a short period of silence, eased back into their usual brotherly banter. Until now, neither had noticed how tiring being upset at each other could be, but without frequent visits to friends it had hit Seto much harder. He was glad he could return to running his company with the proper level of focus.


End file.
